*Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration

106.*Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration

Nominating Unit: City of Foshan

Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration is a comprehensive and large-scale mass cultural entertainment in Foshan region which aims at celebrating the harvest. It is also a unique custom in Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that it originated from children’s harvest celebrating dragon dances in the Jin Dynasty. As time went by, the folk activities of the playing of roles in stories gradually prevailed. And the contents of the activities became more diversified by absorbing various forms of folk activities. In the 14th year the period of Zhengtong of the Ming Dynasty (1449 A.D.), the activities were named “Qiuse (meaning Autumn Harvest Celebration)”, or “Qiu Xiao”, “Chu Qiuse”, “Chu Qiujing”. From the mid Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, Foshan was one of the most famous towns of the nation for its development and prosperity in agriculture, handicraft industry and commerce. Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration also reached its peak of development during that period.Whenever there was a good harvest, different industries or residents of different blocks would organize large-scale Qiuse activities. When an activity was held by one block, the rest blocks would come and join in the activity. People competed with each other in their acting during the parade, forming distinctive folk activities. With the innovation and diversification of Qiuse projects, it has become more competitive in the activities. As “Qiuse Hui Jing” was always in the form of competition, it is also known as “Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration Saihui (tournament)”.

Activities of Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration are diversified. They can be divided into seven kinds of “Se”, namely, Dengse, Chese, Mase, Piaose, Dise, Shuie and Jingse. The tournament with various exquisite Autumn lanterns on show is called Dengse(lanterns); the tournament with colorful carts and people acting on them is called Chese(carts); the tournament in which performers ride horses is called Mase; the tournament in which performers act to show the artistic conception of water is called Shuise, such as the dragon dances, lotus picking sailing, sailing boats on land and so on; the performances staged in air is called Piaose (or “Tiaose”, for people would use a long bamboo stick to lift up Segen ); the tournament in which performances are staged while the performers are walking is called Dise; while the crafts reflecting the natural landscape or social life are called Jingse, such as fruit and vegetables, fish, food, bonsai, utensils antiques, rock hills, figures and other works of art. The content of Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration can be divided into folk crafts and cultural performances. There’re five kinds of techniques for crafts making, which are binding, building, sewing, mounting and sculpting. A lot of peculiar raw materials are available, which are used delicately in a smart way. As for the cultural performances, there’re five categories included, which are folk music, dances, drama, acrobatics and make-up performances. There’re several thousands of participants, forming a long line of procession. The music played in Qiuse activities includes three kinds of forms, namely, “Chuida”, “Shifan” and “Luogu Gui”, all of which are popular folk music in Foshan. During the procession of Qiuse, lively music is played so as to create a festive atmosphere. Just as the saying goes, “All kinds of music are played along the street for the festival.” It has always been spontaneous organization of Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration, with the Qiuse Preparatory Office elected by the residents in charge of the vast and complex preparations. The Qiuse Preparatory Office is divided into seven groups, which are general services group, finance group, communication group and so on. There’re fixed routes and a fixed program for Qiuse procession. The Preparatory Office will post ads on the street which the procession will go by, so as to make it convenient for people to find a close spot for viewing. The order of the procession is the signal lights, initiating lights, Chese, Dengse, the leading Qiuse, Mase, the main Qiuse, Shuise and the cupboard of Drums and Gongs band, flying cymbal performances, Dise, unicorns, lions and the big head Buddha. The procession team is always as long as several miles, with a large number of audiences, which makes a hilarious and festive scene.(https://www.daowen.com)

After the Qiuse procession, people can vote for their favorite crafts or performances. The staff from the preparatory office collects the votes during the procession, and shows the winners to the public in front of the ancestral temple the next day. People will judge the justice of the results, called“Saibiao”, which is of wide participation.

Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration is not attached to any of the gods worship, but in close relationship with the prosperity of local agriculture, handicraft industry and commerce. The“Qiuse Tournaments” have boosted the innovation and promotion of Qiuse, showing the high comprehensiveness, wide participation, great artistic values and delicate craftsmanship of it, highlighting the its nature of entertainment and spontaneous competitiveness, which is of great historic, cultural and academic value.

However, currently there’re few people carrying on the techniques such as building, sewing, sculpting and carving. Besides, “Qiuse Tournaments” nowadays are organized by the government instead of non-governmental organizations. Held only once for several years, Qiuse is lack of opportunities for displaying, which is not conducive to the transmission and development of it. Therefore, there is urgent need to take effective protection measures for Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration.

Foshan Autumn Harvest Celebration was selected into the list of the second batch of state-level intangible cultural heritage in 2008.